England not lulled by India's woes

As England continue preparations for the one-day series against India, with their opening warm-up fixture against the A side in Delhi on Sunday, in a nearby part of the city the chastened national side will be attempting to regain some pride in the final one-day international against Pakistan.

Rather than the series against Pakistan, crammed between England's two visits, being an opportunity to rebuild confidence after the Test series loss before Christmas, it has laid bare the major issues within the India team. This time, returning to coloured clothes has not given them anywhere to hide.

England, though, at least publicly, are not about to start any gloating at their opponent's expense. Despite an impressive 2012 in one-day cricket, where they rose to No. 1 in the world, their recent record in India does not give them any grounds for presumption ahead of this series. In 2005-06 they lost 6-1, and in both 2008 and 2011 it was 5-0. India may look ripe for the taking this time, but England are playing up the home team's strength.

"I don't think it is a good time to play India. I don't think it is ever a good time to play India," Eoin Morgan said. "We know how successful they have been in the past and they are the World Cup champions at the moment.

"They might be going through a bad patch but they are very, very dangerous cricketers and they have guys who can turn the game on its head in a matter of minutes."

Morgan knows all about turning a game around in an instant. It was his straight six off Ashok Dinda which gave England a last-ball victory in the second Twenty20 in Mumbai that earned them a share of the series.

It was yet another example of Morgan's coolness in the heat of battle and he will have a vital role to play in the upcoming series. After a difficult time at the start of 2012, on a forgettable tour of the UAE facing Pakistan, the home summer reaffirmed his status as a premier middle-order batsman for England in the limited-overs game with 298 runs at 74.50 in 11 matches against West Indies, Australia and South Africa.

The one-day batting line-up he will be part of looks very different to the Twenty20 unit on display a couple of weeks ago. Kevin Pietersen is back after reversing his one-day retirement of last June and is likely to bat at No. 3 behind the opening pair of captain Alastair Cook and Ian Bell who forged a successful combination during the English season. Joe Root and Jos Buttler could be competing for one middle-order spot.

England only arrived back in India two days ago and there are just a couple of warm-up matches for them to prepare, but Morgan is confident that the players will be ready with all the squad, except for Chris Woakes, having spent time in India late last year.

"The majority of our preparation has already been done pre-Christmas," he said. "Many of us have been here since the October 24 or 25 and some of the guys who weren't spent three weeks here before Christmas too. Over the next few days we'll just be doing top-ups in different areas of our games. We are prepared."

The match against India A will also be the first chance for Ashley Giles, England's new one-day coach, to assess the bowling options at his disposal in the absence of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann. Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan are the most experienced figures, supported by Woakes, Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker with James Tredwell and Danny Briggs as the frontline spinners.

It remains uncertain, though, how much play they will be able to get in. The cold mornings have left Delhi shrouded in fog while the light fades early and there are no floodlights at the Palam Cricket Ground.

It definitely is a bad patch for India . Selection needs to be at its best if India need to come out winning at home . With the likes of Rahane , Manoj tiwari , rayudu , Pujara , india cannot afford to keep these players out . They need to do major shuffle now . Its now or never . Play like australia , you never feel their whole team is not in form , because they shuffle players as soon as they are out of form . But India retains till they under perform to 11th batsman. HUH!.

vrn59
on January 5, 2013, 19:21 GMT

Very unpredictable series. I still feel that if England play the way they did in the Test series, they can win this too. They have a solid top three - Cook (C), Bell and Pietersen, two gutsy finishers - Morgan and Buttler and an incisive frontline fast bowler - Finn. The selectors must decide whether Buttler can keep wicket (in which case Root can be handed an ODI debut) or whether Kieswetter could be given another chance (though he'll probably fail here too, especially with the bat). Bresnan and Dernbach will probably partner Finn in the pace bowling department, unless Meaker is given a go. Tredwell is likely to be the first-choice spinner. My ENG ODI XI: Cook (C), Bell, Pietersen, Morgan, Root, Buttler (W), Patel / Woakes, Bresnan, Tredwell, Finn, Dernbach / Meaker / Briggs. If Woakes plays at No. 7, Briggs could be brought in as the second spinner; else it should be Woakes and a third seamer (Dernbach / Meaker). Bresnan must show good form else risk being dropped.

QingdaoXI
on January 8, 2013, 7:51 GMT

India can only Beat Sri lanka, England, New Zealand and West Indies in ODis. As they are more poor than Indian team. England should Play with this team: Cook, Bell, Root, Pietersen, Morgan, Buttler, Patel, Bresnan, Tredwell, Finn and Dernbach, than they have chance dont put all good batsmen at top 4 positon if England loose 2 quick wickets it will put pressure on middle order and another exp batsmen can fall in the presure situation, and than it will open the gate for Indian Spinners to kill young middle order as well as tail enders.

jmcilhinney
on January 7, 2013, 12:48 GMT

@jonesy2 on (January 06 2013, 13:01 PM GMT), while I'm not sure that any England player is going to lose any sleep over the fact that you don't know who they are, Tredwell is the guy who stepped in for the rested Swann and took 2 wickets with an economy rate of 3.28 in Australia's fourth straight loss to England in their most recent ODI series. I think it's safe to say that David Warner and Matthew Wade know who he is.

on January 6, 2013, 15:17 GMT

hey u vacant_slip....u have talked just about the positives of england against india,,,,talk about the t20 drubbing in the wc...by 90 runs...talk about 5-0 whitewash in october 2011...no doubt u outwitted us in the test...a deserving win...but in limited overs...u have to give a lot of effort...english team has the potential..lets see....all the best

sachin_vvsfan
on January 6, 2013, 15:12 GMT

@jmcilhinney Not sure about spin bowlers but it appears that there wont be rank turners or flat decks. (The highest score in pak series was 250). Its going to be 3 fast bowlers at least in the main side.

jonesy2
on January 6, 2013, 13:01 GMT

brusselslion -- mate seriously look at this england side. dernbach, bresnan, tredwell (whoever he is), kieswetter, finn, patel, look at these players records, they are woeful, not up to most domestic leagues standard let alone international standard.

GeoffreysMother
on January 6, 2013, 12:36 GMT

@jonesy2
Whilst world rankings are not the be all and end all, the fact that England are second to S.A. in the ODI rankings (and were, I think, first until SA played a woeful NZ team) suggests that you are talking rubbish.

Actually, having watched a bit of the India/ Pakistan series I think that the really interesting series will be S.A. v's Pakistan. It will be very interesting to see if the SA batters can cope with Ajmal even if they produce wickets with minimal spin. It would also seem that Pakistan have the pace bowlers to make it interesting on traditional S.A. wickets.

Mind you Australian bowlers stock continues to rise and rise ..... at least when they are bowling at Australian batsmen.

gsingh7
on January 6, 2013, 11:49 GMT

india won last 2 series 5-0 make it 3 in 3, come on u blues, come on india

A_Vacant_Slip
on January 6, 2013, 11:29 GMT

@MAR00N5 are we going to have to put up with all the trilling from India "fans" all over again? Have you people learned nothing? Are you just another India follower who has just changed their cricinfo name recently? Or are you yet another fairweather India fan? Let us survey India recent trilling. 2011 - they said they would trash England Test match. India were washed 4-0. They said they would thrash England ODI. India lost 3-0. They said they would whip England t20i - India lost. They said Australia Test there for the taking. India were washed there as well 4-0. They said they would win CB series in Australia. India didn't even make the final. They said they would win Asia cup. India didn't even make the final. Fast forward to 2012. They said they would wash in Test in India. India lost 2-1. They said they would flog England t20i. India drew. They said they would whip Pakistan ODI. India lost. So @MAR00N5 this should be a time of quiet reflection for you. A time to not boast.

on January 6, 2013, 0:58 GMT

It definitely is a bad patch for India . Selection needs to be at its best if India need to come out winning at home . With the likes of Rahane , Manoj tiwari , rayudu , Pujara , india cannot afford to keep these players out . They need to do major shuffle now . Its now or never . Play like australia , you never feel their whole team is not in form , because they shuffle players as soon as they are out of form . But India retains till they under perform to 11th batsman. HUH!.

vrn59
on January 5, 2013, 19:21 GMT

Very unpredictable series. I still feel that if England play the way they did in the Test series, they can win this too. They have a solid top three - Cook (C), Bell and Pietersen, two gutsy finishers - Morgan and Buttler and an incisive frontline fast bowler - Finn. The selectors must decide whether Buttler can keep wicket (in which case Root can be handed an ODI debut) or whether Kieswetter could be given another chance (though he'll probably fail here too, especially with the bat). Bresnan and Dernbach will probably partner Finn in the pace bowling department, unless Meaker is given a go. Tredwell is likely to be the first-choice spinner. My ENG ODI XI: Cook (C), Bell, Pietersen, Morgan, Root, Buttler (W), Patel / Woakes, Bresnan, Tredwell, Finn, Dernbach / Meaker / Briggs. If Woakes plays at No. 7, Briggs could be brought in as the second spinner; else it should be Woakes and a third seamer (Dernbach / Meaker). Bresnan must show good form else risk being dropped.

QingdaoXI
on January 8, 2013, 7:51 GMT

India can only Beat Sri lanka, England, New Zealand and West Indies in ODis. As they are more poor than Indian team. England should Play with this team: Cook, Bell, Root, Pietersen, Morgan, Buttler, Patel, Bresnan, Tredwell, Finn and Dernbach, than they have chance dont put all good batsmen at top 4 positon if England loose 2 quick wickets it will put pressure on middle order and another exp batsmen can fall in the presure situation, and than it will open the gate for Indian Spinners to kill young middle order as well as tail enders.

jmcilhinney
on January 7, 2013, 12:48 GMT

@jonesy2 on (January 06 2013, 13:01 PM GMT), while I'm not sure that any England player is going to lose any sleep over the fact that you don't know who they are, Tredwell is the guy who stepped in for the rested Swann and took 2 wickets with an economy rate of 3.28 in Australia's fourth straight loss to England in their most recent ODI series. I think it's safe to say that David Warner and Matthew Wade know who he is.

on January 6, 2013, 15:17 GMT

hey u vacant_slip....u have talked just about the positives of england against india,,,,talk about the t20 drubbing in the wc...by 90 runs...talk about 5-0 whitewash in october 2011...no doubt u outwitted us in the test...a deserving win...but in limited overs...u have to give a lot of effort...english team has the potential..lets see....all the best

sachin_vvsfan
on January 6, 2013, 15:12 GMT

@jmcilhinney Not sure about spin bowlers but it appears that there wont be rank turners or flat decks. (The highest score in pak series was 250). Its going to be 3 fast bowlers at least in the main side.

jonesy2
on January 6, 2013, 13:01 GMT

brusselslion -- mate seriously look at this england side. dernbach, bresnan, tredwell (whoever he is), kieswetter, finn, patel, look at these players records, they are woeful, not up to most domestic leagues standard let alone international standard.

GeoffreysMother
on January 6, 2013, 12:36 GMT

@jonesy2
Whilst world rankings are not the be all and end all, the fact that England are second to S.A. in the ODI rankings (and were, I think, first until SA played a woeful NZ team) suggests that you are talking rubbish.

Actually, having watched a bit of the India/ Pakistan series I think that the really interesting series will be S.A. v's Pakistan. It will be very interesting to see if the SA batters can cope with Ajmal even if they produce wickets with minimal spin. It would also seem that Pakistan have the pace bowlers to make it interesting on traditional S.A. wickets.

Mind you Australian bowlers stock continues to rise and rise ..... at least when they are bowling at Australian batsmen.

gsingh7
on January 6, 2013, 11:49 GMT

india won last 2 series 5-0 make it 3 in 3, come on u blues, come on india

A_Vacant_Slip
on January 6, 2013, 11:29 GMT

@MAR00N5 are we going to have to put up with all the trilling from India "fans" all over again? Have you people learned nothing? Are you just another India follower who has just changed their cricinfo name recently? Or are you yet another fairweather India fan? Let us survey India recent trilling. 2011 - they said they would trash England Test match. India were washed 4-0. They said they would thrash England ODI. India lost 3-0. They said they would whip England t20i - India lost. They said Australia Test there for the taking. India were washed there as well 4-0. They said they would win CB series in Australia. India didn't even make the final. They said they would win Asia cup. India didn't even make the final. Fast forward to 2012. They said they would wash in Test in India. India lost 2-1. They said they would flog England t20i. India drew. They said they would whip Pakistan ODI. India lost. So @MAR00N5 this should be a time of quiet reflection for you. A time to not boast.

@Jonesy: That'll be the same "..worst limited overs side in the world" that whitewashed Australia 6 months ago. BTW: I see that the "world's 2nd best spinner" has just finished a home 3 match series with 7 wickets @ 43.85! Indian & English batsmen quaking in their boots.

30-30-150
on January 6, 2013, 10:21 GMT

@A_Vacant_Slip- The ongoing India A vs England match would give you a clear idea "why" England can't beat India.. Poor England are being totally mauled even as I type.

gagagaga
on January 6, 2013, 9:37 GMT

i think these little inter-national tournaments are great. Seeing players from all over the world coming together to play cricket in India is fantastic. its great for international relations.

Bruisers
on January 6, 2013, 7:19 GMT

England will be easy. Expect India to win 5-0 despite all the mess the team is currently in. Even India A is having a good time against them right now..

on January 6, 2013, 5:24 GMT

Bring back yusuf Pathan , he does not perform in 5 matches , but in 1 if he does than , their is only one result and India wins , he bowls similar to jadeja and bats much better , this way India will have 2 Sehwag one top the order and other down the order . He is a destroyer and this is what we need!

jonesy2
on January 6, 2013, 4:40 GMT

why would england be lulled by indias woes? yes india have been a shambles but england are probably the worst limited over side in the world out of the test playing nations.

on January 6, 2013, 1:41 GMT

I swear these two teams met eachother last year in an ODI series why again?

on January 5, 2013, 23:37 GMT

India urgently needs to invite UAE for a morale-boosting series victory for the tv ad moghuls and pundits (coz they could be beaten by Zimbabwe, Kenya, Bangladesh too)

itsthewayuplay
on January 5, 2013, 23:25 GMT

England are spoilt for choice regardless of experience or not and have the nice headache of who to leave out. India's position is the opposite - we don't know who to include. Look at the way the Pakistani pacers have done Sehwag, Gambhir and Yuvraj in the first 2 ODIs. More pace from England in the form of Finn and Meaker and that's 3 wickets right there. Don't expect too much with the bat from the bowlers and that's another 4 wickets so England are only looking at possible contributions from 4 Indian batsmen. Of these 3 one is most likely Kohli and he's not shown real fluency sine August last year. If one of the other 3 is Raina, a bouncer will take care of him. That leaves Dhoni, who seems to enjoy the ODI format, plus 1 other. At the moment can't see whose going to get wickets or any bowler tying down one end consistently throughout this series. Tell it like it is - England are the firm favourites. Suppose I can't blame Morgan for saying what his IPL employer wants to hear.

A_Vacant_Slip
on January 5, 2013, 23:18 GMT

This is a hard one to call. It was so surprising to see see England sweep Pakistan 4-0 in the UAE in ODI. Amazing actually after the pathetic capitulation in the Test matchs. No-one would have predicted it. But England seem to be good at adapting - so maybe we have a chance this time. However, there is no Swann or Jimmy in India. Very difficult to call. But if Pakistan can beat India - then why shouldn't England???

itsthewayuplay
on January 5, 2013, 23:07 GMT

Ha ha ha c'mon Morgan, pull the other one. England said the same thing after they levelled the test series at Mumbai. India are going to come back strong blah blah blah. In the last 18 months we've lost 8-0 away in tests, won 2 home series against NZ and WI on the back of a combination of questionable umpiring and the absence of DRS and soundly beaten by England 2-1 with all the blatant gamesmanship shown by the BCCI (remember the no spinners in the warm-ups, fast / slow turners etc) and we won the WC after to a dubious DRS decision in Tendulkar's favour in the semis.
India is there for taking. Currently other than Dhoni we've got no-one that handle pace. On recent form, just exactly who are these players that turn the game on its head in minutes? Never a good time to playing India??? On the contrary with Sehwag Gambhir and Yuvraj in the team and Kohli yet to rediscover his golden touch since August last year and no bowlers to speak of, this is the best time to be playing India.

T-800
on January 5, 2013, 23:05 GMT

Morgan fails to realize that there is a coup d'etat currently underway against Dhoni's captaincy. Most of India's batting lineup want Dhoni to be replaced. The current Indian team is no threat to even Ireland much less England. So Mr.Morgan, your fears are completely unjustified. Have a good nights sleep and prepare to feast on India. Then come feast with us in the IPL, because the lord knows the national cricket team is headed toward annihilation. From now on, only private fat paycheck funded cricket is viable. National Cricket is close to being dead and buried except for maybe T20

RandyOZ
on January 5, 2013, 23:02 GMT

Good to hear from the Irishman, I was sick of all the South African accents.

sirviv
on January 5, 2013, 21:32 GMT

I hope Pakistan go back with a sweep. This will help their confidence when they arrive in South Africa.

yorkshire-86
on January 5, 2013, 21:29 GMT

Why would Root and Buttler be fighting for one place? Surely the lineup will be cook bell KP Morgan root Buttler followed by the 5 bowlers? Trott and Bairstow arnt in India. Root will take Bairstows place, while Buttler will only be fetching drinks if they prefer the out of favour Kieswetter.

on January 5, 2013, 20:50 GMT

sree will give his best!!

SyedAreYouDumb
on January 5, 2013, 20:49 GMT

This is the time we pounce on the hapless Indians. For India to regain confidence they should invite Bangladesh to India for a full series for the first time and try and beat Bangladesh... but even still they wont win!

Dandy_s
on January 5, 2013, 19:42 GMT

It wont be that easy for england to beat india , Pakistan has much better spin attack then england especially without swann ..........I rilly hope Pandey and Bist play well against england and get into the indian side

BnH1985Fan
on January 5, 2013, 19:27 GMT

Good one Mr. Morgan! India players dangerous! Heck, they are explosive; self-explosive that is! Did you see them "take on" Pakistan? Be afraid ... be very afraid!!!

on January 5, 2013, 19:00 GMT

@Milhouse79: Considering the current form of the Indian cricket team, I'd like you to redfine 'proper' for me ... :)

We are just being 'jolly good hosts', aren't we?

jackiethepen
on January 5, 2013, 18:20 GMT

England were predicted to lose that ODI Series against Australia. Hapless, gutless? Australia were top of the ODI rankings until that Series. They have played formidable one day cricket even if they have slipped in Test cricket. They beat us 6-1 in 2011. Still whenever England win spectacularly the other side is suddenly downgraded.

jmcilhinney
on January 5, 2013, 17:46 GMT

I know that England have said that Kieswetter is still the preferred keeper for ODIs but I'd really like to see them give he and Buttler one game each with the gloves during warmups. Buttler looked good with both gloves and bat in the T20s and Kieswetter has not really lived up to expectations and was not great in either department on England's last tour. It certainly wasn't the team's only blemish but his treading on the stumps and thereby missing a run out may have cost them their chance of at least one victory in that series. If Buttler can continue the form he showed in the T20s then I say play him as keeper and probably play Root, who looked very competent against spin in the Tests, as well with Kieswetter missing out.

jmcilhinney
on January 5, 2013, 17:39 GMT

Do we know the makeup of the India A side yet? Are there any spinners in it this time? Please tell me that India aren't going to try that stunt again.

on January 5, 2013, 17:35 GMT

Dernbach has lst his effectiveness

Jaffa79
on January 5, 2013, 17:08 GMT

Morgan has to realise that it won't as easy against India as it was in the summer against Australia, where England trounced the hapless, gutless Aussies 4-0. This series will be a proper challenge.

on January 6, 2013, 0:58 GMT

It definitely is a bad patch for India . Selection needs to be at its best if India need to come out winning at home . With the likes of Rahane , Manoj tiwari , rayudu , Pujara , india cannot afford to keep these players out . They need to do major shuffle now . Its now or never . Play like australia , you never feel their whole team is not in form , because they shuffle players as soon as they are out of form . But India retains till they under perform to 11th batsman. HUH!.

vrn59
on January 5, 2013, 19:21 GMT

Very unpredictable series. I still feel that if England play the way they did in the Test series, they can win this too. They have a solid top three - Cook (C), Bell and Pietersen, two gutsy finishers - Morgan and Buttler and an incisive frontline fast bowler - Finn. The selectors must decide whether Buttler can keep wicket (in which case Root can be handed an ODI debut) or whether Kieswetter could be given another chance (though he'll probably fail here too, especially with the bat). Bresnan and Dernbach will probably partner Finn in the pace bowling department, unless Meaker is given a go. Tredwell is likely to be the first-choice spinner. My ENG ODI XI: Cook (C), Bell, Pietersen, Morgan, Root, Buttler (W), Patel / Woakes, Bresnan, Tredwell, Finn, Dernbach / Meaker / Briggs. If Woakes plays at No. 7, Briggs could be brought in as the second spinner; else it should be Woakes and a third seamer (Dernbach / Meaker). Bresnan must show good form else risk being dropped.

Jaffa79
on January 5, 2013, 17:08 GMT

Morgan has to realise that it won't as easy against India as it was in the summer against Australia, where England trounced the hapless, gutless Aussies 4-0. This series will be a proper challenge.

on January 5, 2013, 17:35 GMT

Dernbach has lst his effectiveness

jmcilhinney
on January 5, 2013, 17:39 GMT

Do we know the makeup of the India A side yet? Are there any spinners in it this time? Please tell me that India aren't going to try that stunt again.

jmcilhinney
on January 5, 2013, 17:46 GMT

I know that England have said that Kieswetter is still the preferred keeper for ODIs but I'd really like to see them give he and Buttler one game each with the gloves during warmups. Buttler looked good with both gloves and bat in the T20s and Kieswetter has not really lived up to expectations and was not great in either department on England's last tour. It certainly wasn't the team's only blemish but his treading on the stumps and thereby missing a run out may have cost them their chance of at least one victory in that series. If Buttler can continue the form he showed in the T20s then I say play him as keeper and probably play Root, who looked very competent against spin in the Tests, as well with Kieswetter missing out.

jackiethepen
on January 5, 2013, 18:20 GMT

England were predicted to lose that ODI Series against Australia. Hapless, gutless? Australia were top of the ODI rankings until that Series. They have played formidable one day cricket even if they have slipped in Test cricket. They beat us 6-1 in 2011. Still whenever England win spectacularly the other side is suddenly downgraded.

on January 5, 2013, 19:00 GMT

@Milhouse79: Considering the current form of the Indian cricket team, I'd like you to redfine 'proper' for me ... :)

We are just being 'jolly good hosts', aren't we?

BnH1985Fan
on January 5, 2013, 19:27 GMT

Good one Mr. Morgan! India players dangerous! Heck, they are explosive; self-explosive that is! Did you see them "take on" Pakistan? Be afraid ... be very afraid!!!

Dandy_s
on January 5, 2013, 19:42 GMT

It wont be that easy for england to beat india , Pakistan has much better spin attack then england especially without swann ..........I rilly hope Pandey and Bist play well against england and get into the indian side

SyedAreYouDumb
on January 5, 2013, 20:49 GMT

This is the time we pounce on the hapless Indians. For India to regain confidence they should invite Bangladesh to India for a full series for the first time and try and beat Bangladesh... but even still they wont win!